Killer Motive by Ann Girdharry

Author:Ann Girdharry [Girdharry, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Published: 2019-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

Inside the hospital, Doctor Patel was waiting for him. She was authoritative and calm, and with her manner, she reminded him rather horribly of Doctor Hawthorne. He shook Patel’s hand warmly and marvelled at how she seemed so collected in such a pressured situation, whereas the hospital manager, Mr Tanner, was a bag of nerves and emotion, his stutter more enhanced than usual.

‘I t-tell you he’s dangerous and no-one will listen.’

‘Mr Tanner, sir, we have not yet identified a suspect. Travis is not under suspicion.’

‘I don’t care. I t-t-tried to divert Travis to another facility.’ A bead of spit flew out. ‘At the last moment, the hospital board got involved and so did our Member of Parliament. I couldn’t believe it when Doctor Patel rejected our proposal to divert him elsewhere.’

Grant wanted to tell Tanner to shut up. He didn’t like the way Tanner liked to undermine his colleagues, worse still how he discussed it in public.

The hospital manager threw his hands in the air. ‘It was crazy. She argued how the next nearest hospital with the right expertise is over four hours away. She said it would involve too much s-suffering on the part of the patient to have to be transported so far. It was unbelievable.’

Grant gave the doctor a sympathetic look. ‘Sir, we really don’t have time for this.’

‘It’s the most ridiculous decision I’ve heard in my life.’ Tanner gave Doctor Patel a look of disgust. ‘Mandy Jones and Susan dead and she allows him to come here again. Words fail me.’

‘I had no choice, Tony.’

Medical opinion versus political considerations – what a terrible position she’d been in. Grant knew how hard it must be for her and her team after they’d lost two of their own. And with Tanner on her back too.

‘I think that’s quite enough, sir,’ he said firmly.

‘If anything happens today, it’s on your heads,’ Tanner said.

Mr Tanner was to give a small address to a posse of press clustered in the foyer. He paced at the back, consulting his notes. He was dressed in an expensive navy suit and shirt and his tie was askew. Every time Grant saw him he wore smart clothes, yet he somehow never looked polished.

When Tanner walked to the front and cleared his throat, the press fell silent. Tanner kept to his professional line, not his personal one. He talked about how it was a human right to receive pain medication and treatments to prolong life, and it was a human right to end life in comfort. This was the situation with any cancer patient, regardless of whether or not they were a felon.

A uniformed officer came up to Grant and spoke close to his ear. ‘The prison van’s twenty minutes away, sir.’

Grant gestured to Mr Tanner it was time to wrap it up. Then he left it to the uniformed officers to get the press out. Grant had hoped the hospital manager would have other business to attend to but Mr Tanner had clearly decided to make himself a nuisance for the whole visit.

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